The Committee of Eight Disproportionally Affected Counties voted at its first and possibly last meeting to tweak a funding formula devised for splitting up money coming to each county through the RESTORE Act. The new formula calls for 20 percent of the total dollars that come to Bay, Gulf, Franklin, Walton, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Escambia and Wakulla counties be divided equally.

A previously devised plan had 10 percent of the total pot being divided equally.

The rest of the money will be split based on a formula that takes into account population, sales tax revenue and amount of coastline impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Under the new formula, which still must be approved by each county, Bay, Walton, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Escambia will receive less money when the funds start flowing. Gulf, Franklin and Wakulla will receive more.

“This gives you a little more and gives us a little less, and I’m fine with that,” Bay County Commissioner Mike Thomas told Sanders.

U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Panama City, was credited with making the recommendation to increase the percentage of the total going to each county. He did so when representatives from the smaller counties balked at the size of their shares.

“We did not feel the allocation formula benefited Franklin County in the way it should,” said Franklin County Commissioner Pinki Jackel, who attended Friday’s meeting in Santa Rosa Beach.

Gulf County representative Warren Yeager said Southerland asked committee members to take into account “fish landings,” the pounds of fish, shrimp and oysters harvested in the smaller counties.

Thomas said he had met with Southerland and substantially agreed with his idea to boost the dollar totals for the smaller counties.

“This amount of money, either way, is huge,” he said. “I don’t know if I agree 100 percent with Rep. Southerland, but this gives the smaller counties a little extra money to do more.”

He motioned to approve the change to the formula, saying a drawn-out debate on the topic would benefit no one.

“We can argue all day about little stuff, but I can do that at home,” he said.

Walton County’s Sara Comander and Escambia’s Grover Robinson agreed.

“If we all work together, we benefit,” Comander said.

“I realize it’s a compromise,” Thomas said. “Some of you got a lot of oil on your beaches and some didn’t get any.”

If the plan is approved by all eight counties, it will be sent to the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., and implemented when fines are levied against BP for violations of the Clean Water Act, Okaloosa County Commissioner Dave Parisot said.

Under the old formula in a scenario in which a $5 billion fine is levied against BP, Okaloosa County would have received $32.7 million and Bay County would have gotten $32.4 million. With the new scenario, Okaloosa and Bay would give up $700,000 of their total. Santa Rosa County would forego $500,000 and Walton $300,000.

Also under the new formula, Gulf will get $14.1 million, or $1.4 million more than the original plan. Franklin would get $17.7 million, or $1.1 million more, and Wakulla would receive $10.4 million, or $2 million more.

The $5 billion figure is considered the lowest fine BP could face. A fine of up to $21 billion is possible.

Jackel said Franklin County officials had felt they needed a bigger cut of the money from the RESTORE Act to “accomplish what we need to obtain environmental and economic sustainability for our seafood and tourism industries.”

Although Franklin County chose not to participate in Friday’s vote, Jackel said the committee’s new proposal would be taken to the county commissioners for consideration.

“Today improved our position considerably,” she said.

The RESTORE Act, which was approved last year, calls for 80 percent of all of the fines levied against BP for its role in the oil spill to be distributed among the five Gulf Coast states. The eight Northwest Florida counties directly touched by the oil spill will receive 75 percent of Florida’s share.

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